$18.5M climate change research centre promised for P.E.I.

Ottawa and the P.E.I. government have committed to building a climate change research centre and school in the North Shore community of St. Peters Bay.

The Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation was announced in a news release Friday morning. It will be part of the University of Prince Edward Island, and theUPEI Climate Research Lab will move there.

"The Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation will transform rural Prince Edward Island and set the standard for climate change education," said local MP Lawrence MacAulay in the news release.

The 45,000-square-foot facility will be a centre for research, and support UPEI's bachelor of science in applied climate change and adaptationas well as proposed master's program.

The two governments are contributing $9.7 million to the project through the New Building Canada Fund, with UPEI investing $4.8 million. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is also contributing $4 million to project.

The centre is being established in St. Peters Bay to allow for easy access to nearby wetlands, forests and coastal habitats directly affected by climate change.

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